SPECIAL FEATURE Interview with agent Lina Langlee.UNDISCOVERED VOICES INTERVIEWS Sally Walker.SCBWI-BI LONGEST-SERVING MEMBERS Anne-Marie Perks. ![]() ILLUSTRATION MASTERCLASS REPORT Writing for illust.UNDISCOVERED VOICES 2020 Meet the volunteers.OPENING LINES Results from Sallyanne Sweeney.Your writing is very visually strong, how has filmmaking and animation helped your writing? It’s always nice to start with a compliment, so. What question do you most like being asked about your work? My scripts often featured child protagonists, so to me it didn’t feel like a great leap from that to writing children's fiction. Before that I worked for ten years in the animation industry on various projects, and wrote and directed my own short films on the side. I've always written and I always wanted to tell stories for children, but I only recently became a children's author. If I get stuck writing in order, I’ll skip ahead to a bit I'm sure of. Then I go ahead and write the book from start to finish. There will be holes, but I try not to worry about them. Before I start writing I write a synopsis of 5-10 pages, which includes as much of the plot as I have at that moment. It is great to get away from emails and screens and questions, and get some air that’s not grey and heavy like the air in London. My partner is a big walker, so sometimes we go walking in the countryside. When I am swimming up and down I can think about my story and sometimes even work things out. It also explains the mechanics and tricks writers use to move a scene along, and it gets you thinking about stories in terms of what mix of genres they are.ĭoes walking or exercise help the creative process? It is very quick and easy to read and it contains everything you need to know about plotting in the most stripped down form. What is your favourite ‘how to’ book about writing and/or illustrating, and why? Original cover of The Witches by Roald Dahl Those kinds of book – told in retrospect by a character – always have a cracking opening line and The Witches is no exception: "I myself had two encounters with witches before I was eight years old." It’s the sort of opener that makes you want to read on. The style is completely different from my book. It’s scary and funny, and a quirky story with a unique ending. What is the best creative advice you’ve been given?ĭoesn’t matter how many nos you get, you only need one yes.Īnd what advice would you like to give to writers/illustrators who are trying to get established? I am best first thing in the morning when my brain is fresh, or late afternoon, when I am running out of time and I know I have to stop soon. I try to write at least a thousand words a day. Working from all these various scraps of paper I write my first draft straight into the computer. If any of these end up being useful for the book, I will stick them all on a sheet together and staple them down. ![]() I have a load of extra Post-its stuck around my computer screen with unrelated random ideas on. Then, if I suddenly need to add a missing scene into the text, I will just write it on a Post-it and stick it where it needs to go in the chronology. I normally try and write a 5-10 page synopsis in longhand on the legal pad. When I start writing a new project I use a yellow legal pad to make notes. Pen and ink, Scrivener, Post-its, A3 pads, oils, watercolour etc, etc. You can set it to the sound of your scene. ![]() That has sound effects for rain, train journeys, crackling fires etc. Sound effects apps like Noizio are good too. A film soundtrack if it’s an action or spooky scene and you need something to go with it. Some calm classical music is always good, especially in the morning when it’s noisy outside. Do you need particular prompts to get started?
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